Author: Riccardo Tafà
Riccardo Tafà is the founder and Managing Director of RTR Sports Marketing, the independent motorsport sponsorship agency he established in 1995. A law graduate of the University of Bologna, he began his career in PR in London before moving into motorsport, and has spent more than 30 years structuring sponsorship partnerships in Formula 1 and MotoGP - closing over 100 deals across eight championships with properties including McLaren, Williams, Ducati, Honda HRC, Yamaha Factory Racing and Dorna Sports. He writes on sponsorship strategy, commercial rights, pricing, and ROI measurement for brands entering motorsport at every budget level.
March 4, 2019
Sports Licensing Companies: Why Working with a Specialist Makes the Difference
Why work with a specialised sports licensing company? When a company first approaches the world of sports licensing, the instinct is often to go direct: reach out to the rights holder, negoti[...]
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March 3, 2019
Great Product Licensing in Sport: How Brands Turn “Good” Into “Wow”
There are many examples of how sports licensing has managed to elevate everyday products and turn them into something truly exceptional. Sport, its values, its teams, its heritage and its ima[...]
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February 28, 2019
Brand Licensing Costs: Minimum Guarantee, Royalties and How Deals Work
How much does it cost to invest in a brand licensing operation? This is one of the most frequent questions we get asked when talking about licensing. It is a legitimate question – and o[...]
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February 28, 2019
What small business opportunities are there in sports sponsorship?
If you’re thinking about taking the plunge and investing in sports sponsorship, you might be wondering about budgets – do you need a large one, for example? How far will your budget s[...]
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February 26, 2019
Sport Licensing: Boost Your Sales with the Power of Sport
Competing in the global market is increasingly difficult. Companies, especially mid-sized ones, are under growing pressure: low-cost production delocalization has forced many out of business,[...]
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February 25, 2019
Sports Sponsorship: what are the advantages of sponsorship in business?
If you’re thinking of investing in sports sponsorship, it’s important to know exactly what the advantages of sponsorship in business are. Of course, it’s likely that you’re already as[...]
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February 17, 2019
How do sponsorships benefit the sports organization and the sponsor?
Aside from “how does sponsorship work in sports?”, one of the most interesting questions within sports marketing is, “how do sponsorships benefit the sports organization and the sponsor[...]
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February 12, 2019
Riders, Teams and social reach: benefits for sponsors
The Power of Social Media in Sports Sponsorship: MotoGP and Italian Media (2025 Update) Any corporate marketing and communication initiative is now universally recognized as closely linked to[...]
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January 28, 2019
Sports sponsorships: how much are they worth in football, F1, MotoGP and tennis?
How much do sports sponsorships in F1, MotoGP, football and tennis cost? A comparison of the minimum budget required to gain visibility. Sports sponsorships can be worth from a few thousand e[...]
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December 2, 2018
Injuries: how does risk play a factor when sponsoring sport?
It’s a risk that must be taken into account when sponsoring a sports star or an athlete: that they might, unfortunately, find themselves injured and out of the game—for a few weeks, an en[...]
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October 14, 2018
I want to sponsor MotoGP: how can I get involved?
Three hundred million euros. That is the estimated total annual revenue collected by MotoGP teams in sponsorship rights, according to industry analyses over recent years. And yet, the vast ma[...]
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September 7, 2018
Marketing of sports businesses: top 3 tips
Sports marketing and online communication A correct web marketing strategy combined with sports marketing consulting can contribute to improving brand development, brand awareness, and visibi[...]
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July 22, 2018
Sports licensing and co-branding: how they work and why brands invest
Six hundred and seventy million euros. That is what Ferrari earned in 2024 from its “sponsorships, commercial and brand” segment — an aggregate that includes sponsorship on Form[...]
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June 21, 2018
“We do not have a big budget, we cannot enter sport sponsorship”
Budget is one of the hottest topics when it comes to sports and companies often think they do not have the resources to get involved. “We have no budget” or “we do not have [...]
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June 20, 2018
How to choose a sport to sponsor: criteria and method
Instinct or numbers? That is the wrong question. The right question comes before any data analysis: does the sport you are considering manage to keep audiences engaged week after week? Sport [...]
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June 18, 2018
Will the Marquez-Lorenzo Dream Team kill MotoGP in 2019?
Is the “Dream Team” a good thing for MotoGP? The signing of Lorenzo for the working Honda HRC Team has struck the paddock like a lightning two weeks ago. I had the time to digest it and I[...]
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June 13, 2018
How to Choose a Sport to Sponsor? A Quick Guide
This is the big dilemma: should I follow my instinct or should I look at the numbers? Well, I’ll look at the numbers — they don’t lie. But before that, the main piece of advice [...]
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May 30, 2018
Women and Sports Sponsorship: What the Data Really Shows
41% of F1 fans are women and 3 in 4 new fans are women: Nielsen 2024 data and the 2025 F1 Global Fan Survey dismantle the misconception that women don’t follow sport. Here is what it me[...]
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May 28, 2018
Sponsorship and hooligans. How to deal with violent fans
Unfortunately, the one between sponsorship and hooligans can be a tough combo to deal with. Can a sponsoring brand have problems because of the team’s supporters? Fans, especially in some d[...]
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May 21, 2018
Sports sponsorship and bonus covered by insurance
Sometimes sports sponsorships grant a bonus to athletes or teams linked to their results. The team winning the Champions League, the driver who becomes world champion, the national team that [...]
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